


A Thing of Beauty

by shinyskarmorys



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Bad Parenting, Character Growth, Character Study, Gen, No Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28279830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinyskarmorys/pseuds/shinyskarmorys
Summary: Hoping to flee her wealthy parents' oppressive wishes, aspiring Kalosian Trainer Kosi runs away from home - and on the road, learns a little life lesson about being true to yourself.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	A Thing of Beauty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KosmicKisses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KosmicKisses/gifts).



> Thank you so much Kosmic for letting me write for you again! Kosi is their OC, and this is a little story from her time starting out!

Kosi was really starting to hate sand.

Technically it was red earth, swept up as sediment by the strong winds of the Lumiose Badlands, but she couldn’t really tell the difference, and she didn’t really care. All she wanted was a way out of this endless wasteland—but that was a lot easier said than done when you were travelling on foot and not the comfort of your parents’ luxury car.

Because that was about as much she knew about regional travel that didn’t require a private plane. The family had a summer home in the resort city of Coumarine which was a direct route out of Lumiose, so they chose to drive down whenever vacation rolled around. So it was also Kosi’s closest getaway out of Lumiose—and hopefully out of Kalos. All she needed to do was head down to the port and hop onto a boat and hope it took her as far away from her overbearing family as possible.

A straightforward plan on paper. But now, with nothing but steep red rock faces filling her view, bordering endless straits of earth and several dirt mounds she’d tripped over multiple times—either an offending Diglett or Trapinch—she was beginning to realise she’d bitten off more than she could chew. And she was starting to panic.

Once her parents discovered the stash of missing cash from her mother’s cupboard, and her bag, essentials and boots gone from her room, they’d know she ran away. And with their reach around the Lumiose city limits, all they needed to do was put out a missing notice and a sizable reward and there’d be tips and eyewitnesses pouring in from every corner. None of them would care about the  _ real _ reasons she’d flown the coop… not her parents, nor anyone who’d seen her before she’d left the capital city.

Kosi cursed herself for making her first trip to a salon on the other end of town. The hairdresser would know she’d been there, and would know what she looked like now. But she wanted the change, not just to be unrecognisable in a new place, but for  _ her _ , to convince herself she was making the right choice. She’d chopped short her once long hair, and had it dyed a grey and light pink. The complete opposite of the prim, proper, ‘ladylike’ image her family insisted she maintained.

_ Be a good girl, Kosi, _ she could hear her mother’s voice chide her now.  _ Good girls know their place. You’ll be a grown woman soon, and if you don’t be a good girl now, you’ll never make a good wife. _

But did that really matter? She’d heard plenty of stories of children much younger than her seventeen years travelling all over Kalos and becoming accomplished Pokemon Trainers—something that was easily a grown up activity, and something she’d never been allowed to do. At least she had Eevee—but the little Evolution Pokemon had been subject to just as much of the same treatment. If Kosi was to be the perfect little princess, then Eevee would be the perfect little princess’ perfect pet.

She’d probably never be a Pokemon Trainer. She didn’t know what she’d do once she was out of Kalos. But she knew what she  _ wouldn’t _ do, and that was to submit to her parents’ whims any longer. They already had the perfect offspring in her high-flying brothers. They didn’t need her, especially not when all they wanted her to do was be a porcelain doll.

And porcelain dolls could never make it out of the Lumiose Badlands in one piece, could they?

The thought brought her a renewed sense of determination, and she dug her heels into the earth and took off into a run so the travelling mounds wouldn’t catch her. Unfortunately, it meant running into a full-blown sandstorm—worse than the dust trails which had dogged her all along.

“Ahh! I can’t—see! Help!”

She wasn’t sure who it was that she was calling out to; surely there was no one else in this barren desert for miles. She only had Eevee, but the little one was tucked safely in her Pokeball, and Kosi didn’t want to risk losing her in the sand. Her only option was to keep running, running in the direction of the winds hoping that by cutting through them she’d find an exit… before she tripped over something, stumbled and scraped her knees and palms.

From the stinging in her hands she was sure she’d cut something, but she didn’t want to look down to check if her knees were bleeding. All she wanted to do then was cry, and she hated herself for it. She wasn’t supposed to be a silly crybaby! She…  _ couldn’t  _ be.

Then, through the blur of her tears clogging her vision as she tried to keep them down, she spotted respite: the entrance to a cave. It wasn’t the way out, but at least it would shield her from the sand till it subsided.

Slowly, carefully, bending her scraped knees upwards so they wouldn’t touch the surface of the rocks, she crawled up to the entrance; using a handhold to lower herself down. The rocks at the mouth seemed rather unsteady even with her lightweight grip, but she kept going till she could hop down onto solid ground. The cool cave breeze was a welcome relief on her face, smoothing over the biting sensation the sand had left for hours. Finally, she could afford to relax…

… before the rocks she’d just climbed over began to give way, shifting about with a threatening rumble; by instinct, she jumped backwards out of their reach as fast as she could—before they crumbled and caved, cutting off the entrance she’d just come through. There was still light creeping through gaps between the larger boulders—but there was no way she had enough physical strength to move them herself.

She was trapped.

Trapped by her own hubris.

With nothing else left to do, Kosi finally sank to her knees onto the cold cave floor, sobbing as she hugged her legs to her chest.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. This had been a stupid decision from the start. But what was she supposed to do? If she wasn’t here suffocating in a cave, she’d be at home suffocating in her parents’ methods of obedience. She wanted anything but that, but she didn’t know what she really wanted. Even her new haircut felt alien on her head; like she’d borrowed it from someone else. That in trying not to be a pretty princess, she’d just turned herself into nothing at all.

The Pokeball on her belt suddenly began to vibrate, surprising her enough to pause her tears. Kosi blinked as Eevee sprang out of her own accord and into her Trainer’s lap, gently pawing at her tear-streaked face and crying out concernedly. “Vee?”

“Hi, Eevee,” she mumbled, cracking a smile and hugging the furry vulpine Pokemon tight. “Thanks for checking on me. I’m… we’re not doing too great. I don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here…”

Just then, Eevee’s ears twitched, and her head whipped around to the right as if sensing movement. Kosi tensed too, hoping to Arceus it wasn’t a strong wild Pokemon—neither of them could defend themselves against it. There  _ was  _ something lurking in the shadows, something rather rocky-looking and angular… Holding Eevee tight, she instinctively backed up against the wall as the intruder crept closer, praying they wouldn’t spot them…

There was no such luck as they came into view, but they were completely unlike what Kosi had expected: a small, floating Pokemon, a lot less threatening than the shadows made it out to look. It was unlike anything she’d seen; while its lower half was solid rock, its upper half seemed to be made out of a brilliant gemstone—whether it was pink, red or white she couldn’t tell in the limited light—and looked like it was covered by a dress shirt. Most of the gemstone formed a dramatic pointed headdress, under which wide purple eyes regarded her curiously, shimmering like jewels in the dark.

“Whoa,” she whispered, and Eevee agreed, letting out a low mew and staring back at the Pokemon with equally wide eyes. This got the newcomer’s attention; it cocked its head at Eevee in a curious gesture. “Di?”

“Don’t worry, Eevee won’t hurt you,” she chuckled, dipping her head. “We’re… kinda lost actually. Are you lost too? What’s your name?”

“Dia?”

“Um… okay, I guess I’ll call you Dia,” Kosi nodded, slowly offering a hand—which Dia regarded for a moment before accepting it, bowing gracefully. It was amusing enough to make her giggle. “Thanks, Dia. It’s nice to meet you too. Do you live in this cave?”

Dia tapped the side of its head like it was pondering the question, then glanced downward—and pointed at Kosi’s knees, crying out. “Ah, yeah—we fell in here by accident,” she explained sheepishly. “We were trying to get to Coumarine City, and there was a sandstorm outside and we ran in here, then the rocks caved in and we got stuck. I’m sorry if we disturbed you.”

The strange Pokemon shook its bejewelled head like it was offended by the thought—then looked up suddenly like it had remembered something; it grabbed Kosi’s hand, shaking it about and pointing in the direction it came from.

“What?” Kosi blinked, holding Dia’s other hand to get it to slow down. “Are you telling me there’s a way out of here?!”

“Ci! Dia-cie!”

“Oh, thank Arceus! But… you’ll have to show me the way,” she frowned, kneeling carefully so she was level with the Pokemon’s face, still holding its hands. “Can you please show me? I was really lost and scared I’ll be in this cave forever… and then you showed up. If you know the way out… I think it’s like a sign. So I trust you, Dia.”

Dia gazed back into her blue eyes, nodding slowly in understanding; then it broke into a smile and a delighted cry, instantly warming her heart. “Oh, thank you so much. I owe you one,” she nearly wept, but mirrored the smile and got back to her feet, stepping back so Dia had the lead. “Hear that, Eevee? We’re getting out of here!”

Eevee let out a jump of joy, but stuck to her Trainer’s shoulder as she slowly followed Dia into the dark corridor—but the darkness dissipated the further along they went, thanks to Dia’s shimmering crystals lighting up the path ahead of them.

Almost like a metaphor, Kosi thought to herself. A light in the dark.

Somewhere along the way, the two Pokemon began engaging in conversation, and she smiled and examined her surroundings; they seemed to be in a long tunnel of sorts, the ceiling low but tall enough that Kosi could walk through without crouching. The rocky walls didn’t look naturally cut, but didn’t look like they were made by human hands; most likely wild Pokemon… or just the one. Her eyebrows shot up. “Dia? Did you make this path?”

Dia nodded and grinned, shaking about its crystal headdress like it was proud of itself, and Kosi let out a low whistle. “Wow. You really are that strong?”

As if in response to her query, Dia stopped by what was another roadblock of rocks, and held out its hands, a glow emitting from them; then, every individual boulder began levitating with the same glow, before Dia raised its hands and threw them back forward—and the rocks followed suit, blasting with the glow and into nothingness, leaving a wide open path. Kosi could only blink in open-mouthed awe.

“That was amazing, Dia!” she finally blurted out, and Eevee clapped with her. “You might look really small and delicate—but you’re incredible and strong!” Dia seemed to puff up with the praise, but looked back at her sincerely, and she smiled. “Thank… thank you for showing me. I feel a lot better now.”

Dia simply smiled back, holding out its hand for Kosi to take again, and she gladly followed. Perhaps it was just her imagination, or there was suddenly a lot more natural light in the cave, and the air was smelling a lot fresher, too. Almost like…

… salt?

“No way. Are we nearing the sea? We can’t be… but we’ve been walking a long time now…” She cut herself off as light suddenly hit them from above; squinting, she could see an entrance gaping through the stone, onto which Dia floated and waited while she pulled herself and Eevee up—face first into the sand.

“What the—” she sputtered, shaking her head and carefully getting to her feet, examining her surroundings. Now she could clearly see they’d ended up on a thin strip of beach; to the right was a small dock where several shining white fishing boats were moored. She turned around to see where they’d come from; the cave exit was cut into a cliffside, the top of which was covered in verdant green, and identical buildings in pleasant blue tile and stone lined its top—there was a much larger, slanted plexiglass roof in the distance that could only belong to a Pokemon Gym.

“I don’t believe it,” she gasped, taking everything in. “We made it to Coumarine City!” She immediately whirled around to face her new friend, who looked just as overjoyed as she did; she pulled the Pokemon into an embrace, feeling tears of joy prick at her eyes. But Dia didn’t flinch; just stuck close. “Thank you, Dia… thank you so much. I’m so, so glad I met you.”

“By Arceus’ halo!” a voice sounded from in front of them, making Kosi jump. “Are my eyes deceiving me or is that really a Diancie?!”

She turned around to where a middle-aged man holding fishing gear was looking at them in amazement, regarding Dia from head to toe. “Oh, is that their real name? I didn’t know. But I think they prefer being called Dia.” The Diancie spun around in agreement, and she laughed.

“Amazing. It really is as the legends say—the most beautiful sight there is! And—you’re their Trainer?! But that’s even more astounding!”

“Um—not really,” Kosi chuckled sheepishly, explaining what had happened when they fell down the cave. The fisherman laughed and clapped his hands in delight.

“Well, miss, it’s no coincidence that you attracted something like Diancie in your hour of need. It must’ve sensed your strong spirit, because that is often what draws a Mythical Pokemon to someone! But I’m not surprised it likes you so much. Why, you both even look alike!”

Kosi opened her mouth to retort, but then turned to Dia, and noticed the man was right. Out in the daylight, she could now clearly see the grey of their rock and the pink of their crystal—the same way she’d dyed her hair. The shimmer of the sunlight made them look even daintier than before… like a porcelain doll.

But that same porcelain doll had blasted their way through a rock tunnel like it was nothing. And could possibly be hiding an even greater strength.

What had the fisherman said?  _ Diancie is the most beautiful sight there is _ . For years, she’d had a very different definition of the word ‘beautiful’: one that sit put and let their prettiness do the work for them, the one her parents wanted her to fulfil. But looking at Dia now… she was starting to realise ‘beautiful’ could be anything it wanted to be.

“Are you alright, miss?”

The fisherman’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she bowed, smiling. “I’m fine, thank you. Say… do you know which way the Coumarine Port is? I’m looking to travel out of Kalos…”

“Well, it’s further up ahead, but I don’t think those luxury boats would let on a straggler like you,” he frowned. “However… I’m headed up to Hulbury myself, and you’ve made me so happy by showing me Diancie I would not at all mind ferrying you there for free!”

“Hulbury?”

“It’s in the Galar region. It’s across the channel from here.”

“The Galar region…” She looked to Eevee, who nodded firmly, then turned back to the fisherman with a grin. “I would very much like to join you, sir. Thank you—” She hesitated, turning back to Dia, who looked a bit sad. “Dia? Would you like to come with us?”

Dia’s expression immediately cheered up, and they spun happily around Kosi; the fisherman chuckled, rummaging in his bag. “Think you’d best use this then!”

He tossed her a Pokeball, which she caught and flung towards Diancie; it spun once, twice, thrice—then glowed with confirmation, and she picked it up, caressing it gently. “I did it! I caught Diancie!”

“You did a lot more than that, I think,” the man chuckled, leading the way forward where his boat was anchored. “Come along, miss. We’ll be headed out to Hulbury in no time.”

Hulbury… Galar… She had no idea what awaited her there, but Kosi knew she was ready; ready to start over, in a place where she could be anything she wanted. Dia had shown her that—and she knew Dia would accept her as long as she stayed true to herself.

Because beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.

  
  



End file.
